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by Carry On
Summary: Even the most cautious person can pick up a destructive virus. [Mai Centric]


I hope you're all aware by my participation on this site that I do not own Yuugiou, and am not getting paid for anything I have written related to it.

Let's forget the Doom saga took place, as well as the fact that you're supposed to italicize honorifics.

**Transferring…**

It was going to be impossible, she finally realized, to find Sleep in that particular game of hide-and-go-seek, yet her body wasn't giving up on the game. It had been as if it was aware of another player, and had been aware of them for the past day. Every inch of her was on alert for that lurking opponent. The deep, grape juice purple eyes she possessed shoved off the imposing eyelids with all the light they sucked in; this light then reused to scan the blackness surrounding the trail of dim light entering from the hall. The complex inside her ears had also been busy; sifting for any threats which could lay in disguised in anything, whether it was the foreign conversations of nurses, the nearby machinery, the snoring of the woman across form her, or the seductive notes of the Arabic music which slunk into that odd little room.

All did their part to protect her. Tongue tasted, skin felt and the mind thought.

That ability to think was especially becoming a burden. No break was given from the thoughts or feelings which flooded her mind. Loneliness was the worst, as it had always been. Its weight slowly built up, crushing her with memories of Battle City and the airship. It showed her the time spent with the gang as they drove for their final destination, the encouragement given to her whenever she was dueling, the great pride and relief she had all felt as Jonouchi lifted himself to his feet, and the final moments when he had lifted her to her own. Even with these evidences, she still felt she was an outsider to their group. She still clung to them happily, however, for at the same time, she felt as if she was connected to them; that she was wanted.

But she was never able to concentrate on the only the joyful side; pain and terror always seeped through the poorly constructed floor. They were horrible, the way the sorrow presented itself in her parting with them, and of her fear of returning to Domino City, but it was the memories of _him _and his inflictions that pushed her heart to scream. In the short amount of time they knew each other, he had managed to steal all the love she had been able to collect in her life, all of the companions she had fought her own fears for. And he had almost been able to keep it.

She would never be able to shake off all the glittering sand which had gotten trapped in her hair; it had rained down on her too fiercely. Never would she rid herself of the glimpse of what must have truly been Hell.

And as much as she may have wished his imprint would disappear forever from her mind, each beat of her heart told her it would not be so.

Suddenly, she became informed of something. Frightened, she lifted her arm on an impulse. Her veins pulsated lightly under the white skin. True terror, more than just a passing recollection could deliver, had been added to the vital liquid of that anguished body. Something repressed that day, and sedated the days before, finally surfaced.

Somehow, she learned that, at that very moment, she was carrying more than just a memory.

He had made it into her very body.

The shock dug in swiftly, as the little shelled creatures that eat their way into the sand of beaches did. Her breath became shallow. Her pupils slowly drowned in the ocean of purple. In between her legs, cold and discomfort settled. The hair on her arms stood erect like little soldiers.

And unwillingly, her heart raced, spreading him further about. Further, until all of his spirit could reach the one area he desired to be.

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It was finally beginning to cool down as the two broke away from the disorganized line of people and sunk into the mixture of ideal crayon green and the brown of sun dried leaves pretending to be the skin of the local park. Barely any sound accompanied their journey to the heart of that small body but the scuffle of their sandals on the cracking sidewalk. Even though it was nearly quiet, the atmosphere wasn't enough to allow escape from the world outside the gates, but it relaxed the senses enough so the sun's fingerprints could be felt on their bare arms and shoulders.

"Mai-san, where will you be flying next?" The girl asked, looking up at Mai while carefully handling the small basket of strawberries they had picked up at a snack stand. She had been so insistent on getting them, without ever having to say a word, that Mai broke down and bought the expensive treats.

"I'm scheduled to go to Egypt," Mai replied without the enthusiasm most people would have expected. She couldn't get excited; it had only taken several trips throughout Japan and America to extinguish any optimism of being laid over long enough to see anything spectacular. Maybe someday it would happen, and make the job as airline stewardess more worthwhile, but Mai wasn't getting her hopes up.

"Egypt? Will you be able to see anything?"

Mai shook her head, "Maybe in a gift shop."

A meek "Oh" slipped from the younger girl's mouth before they both agreed upon and sat down on one of the wooden benches. A small amount of graffiti on Shizuka's side seemed to distract her as she offered Mai the strawberry basket. It seemed whatever had been pestering her earlier in the afternoon seemed to have returned. Mai picked up one of the larger berries and bit into it, the warm juice buying her a few moments to think.

"I'll get a vacation eventually," She started in a gentle, careless way, her tone morphing as she brought a hint of an encouraging smile. "I have no idea where'd I go, though. Any suggestions?"

Shizuka looked over at Mai with an expression conveying serious thought. It was while the younger girl thought that Mai began to piece together all she had observed during their day together. Shizuka's physical appearance hadn't changed in the few months since Battle City ended, except that she noticed more of her youthful body through summer clothes, but it wasn't this that Mai took interest in; Jonouchi's sister had matured since the last time they had met. She was still soft-spoken and a little clingy to whomever she was with, yet her manner showed that she had recently taken another step towards adulthood. The woman couldn't quite grip it, but she knew that it would show itself again in whatever Shizuka said.

"I'd love to visit a beach, Mai-san, a different…exotic one. So maybe I'd go to Hawaii? Or Australia."

"Hmm…that would be fun." Mai grabbed another strawberry, this time carefully ripping off the green cap and politely popping the whole thing in her mouth.

"I love the ocean," Shizuka sighed. "Oni-chan said he'll bring me to the beach again when I visit Domino next week. I can't wait!"

Shizuka beamed and grabbed two berries. Her smile didn't stay long, not after Shizuka noticed the sad, longing look in Mai's large eyes. She was still smiling, softly, but off of her lips dripped sorrow. Shizuka's own lips set themselves straight, and her hands dared to grip Mai's wrist.

Seconds ticked away on the clock across from the bench.

"Mai-san, please go back."

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Somehow, those words were all she could think of as she was removed from the devastated hotel foyer. All she could see as the Egyptian hospital staff scurried over her body, making sure she would stay alive, were Shizuka's navy green eyes pleading silently to go back where she surely belong. And all she had hoped as they pumped the donated blood into her veins was that she would be able to keep that promise so unwittingly made on that breezeless day.

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If her nerves had been piano keys, the pressure stroking her upper arm, whoever's finger was swaying up and down in a constant wave, would have made the worst sound that would ever come from such an instrument. She could continue denying it all she wanted, but the invisible finger was sinking in further, bringing the infection of truth into the unmarked skin. The pressure became unbearable; Mai's right hand flashed up and gripped the area to make the finger stop.

Instead, its touch spread.

Her eyes, before so alert, cowered behind the eyelids they had fought off so hard, leaving only a line of tears. Her hand stayed on her arm, the skin underneath now numb.

_He can't be here...he's dead! Oh God, Yuugi got rid of him!_

As she simply continued to lay there in the heated, near dampened sheets, struggling both to scream and to stay silent in response to the pain and the comfort, the dreaded confirmation came.

The voice she had told herself she would never hear again spoke clearly in her head.

"Woman," The cool, sexy voice whispered, so close she would've sworn he was physically next to her. "You cannot destroy a part of the personality."

"W-what?" A mouthed-whispered came from her mouth with as much defiance and fearlessness as she could show while trying to get over the shock his voice had brought. Or had it never left the chamber? She couldn't tell.

His laughter echoed, and his voice rose with his reply.

"I see you're still miserable," Mai wanted to deny this, but before she could utter anything, she felt him smirk. "I know your emotions, woman; it's a much better, much more delightful method than trying to read thoughts, so there's no use hiding everything like you normally do.

"You should taste your fear! It's delicious."

"Go away! This is just, just the medication!" She managed, the overused deception of bravery rolling out to attempt to cover that spilled wine, her fear, from him. It wouldn't fool him now, if it ever had before.

A sharp, almost ripping pain raced through her stomach, its exhaust staying behind to pollute whatever hadn't been touched. Here, too, it became numb, just as the upper part of her chest and left arm had.

_What is he doing...? _

A relaxed sort of panic was beginning to blind her, and she knew that she must fight whatever he was doing in his trips about her inside. Mai's free arm dove off the bed and started a frantic search for _anything _that could save her.

Again, he was laughing.

"Medication? They lowered your dosage this morning," The pain stopped in her abdomen. All attention skipped over to her thigh, which he was now gripping. Her eyes remained shut and her heart still pumped rapidly, but the rest of her began to put up a resistance to the invader. His voice attempted to drop back to a whisper, but it was like the excited one of a child. "I'm real."

Her mouth opened wide into a soundless scream and her face contorted as the pressure on her leg became worse than anything she had felt before. Boiling water poured on broken skin, never cooling down and gushing across every inch of the wound was the closest action that could describe what his internal touch brought.

"And I'm going to remain here with whatever is left of you."

Her own hand gripped the cheap metal handle of the bedside stand's only drawer just as the leg too, began to cool and become numb. However, as her hand yanked the drawer open and slipped inside, she noticed a different procedure unfolding. The numbness spread, exactly as it had before in her arm, chest and throat, but after the main wave had departed, there was an absence of any feeling that even numbness couldn't bring.

It felt as if another substance was replacing her cells; her fluids; her body. And to her horror, this process was taking place in all the previously infected areas.

"No…" Mai whispered. She didn't know what else to say. All she could summon in her diseased mind were thoughts of giving up, along with thoughts of fighting him. She assured herself that she would never surrender him; this time, she wouldn't allow herself to be tricked and fall victim like before. In the same space as that bravery, the fear of the man (or were they actually him, disguising himself in her voice?) would intercept and tell her just to give up.

No, she yelled, she had a promise to keep. She still wasn't sure if anyone was truly waiting for her, but she knew she'd have to take that chance. At least in this world she knew there was that possibility, rather than going back to that dimension where she would certainly always be alone. As she screamed and resisted, her hand came across the object she had unconsciously sought for.

There was no doubt he would know about it soon.

The sands of Time were slipping fast out of the hourglass.

Hourglass….

Shaking, her thumb hastily removed the safety cover of the razor.

Each individual 'ha' that made up his crazy laughter sped by; grazing her rudely as it hurried to aid the virus. He knew the turn of events that were about to take place, yet he sounded amused, and he still remained confident in his gaining control over her body.

The tiny plastic cover fell to the hospital floor with an equally tiny _clink_. Armed with her new weapon, Mai's hand shot over her still body once again. She finally opened her eyes, and with only the pale hallway light to guide her, she slid the blade of the cheap, disposable razor as deep and as hard as she physically could into the stolen flesh of her upper wrist.

At first she felt nothing, and for a split second, she didn't see anything. Mai raised the razor and slashed again, this taking place simultaneously with the gush of blood from the first cut and Yami Malik's elevated tone of ecstasy.

"Do it again!" She ignored the childish request, trying to block him out of whatever mind she had control over.

Finally, she felt a weak, stinging pain in her wrist.

It didn't seem to match the amount of blood that was soaking into the pure, white sheets. Perhaps she hadn't drained his blood out of hers?

Maybe it was a slow process?

How long could she go on slashing?

_But…do I have to cut my throat! My leg?_ The sense of victory she had gained faded as she was faced with this new dilemma. Her eyes began to moisten once more.

She knew what had to be done.

This was _him _she was dealing with, after all.

Mai lifted the razor once more and angled it as she thought would be correct. The vein throbbed, as if trying to ward the threat away.

She closed her eyes once again. She was still frightened, but she placed as much of a peaceful look as she could on her face.

_For them._

And as she sunk the three blades into the clammy skin, and as he licked his lips, hardly containing himself for what was to happen next, she prayed that enough of her blood would stay inside her until the nurse came around.

**Download Complete.**

Even though it's a small feeling, some of you might not understand the happiness that rose inside me as I completed that last sentence. Finally, after more than six months, I've completed something I wrote. I don't know, or care right now what the exact quality of this is, but in my eyes, this will be one of my best works, even if I did steal characters to do it.

So, even if I don't get any reviews on this, I'll be glad all the same.

And yes, there are flaws in it that I know of; after all, they exist in everyone's stories. One of them that I looked over, and had to talk myself into saying it didn't matter, was the fact that Malik could never donate blood to Mai, seeing as he has type B and she is type O. But, it's a fairly unknown fact, so I went on with it.

Besides, the other idea I had with Isis, who also has type O blood, wasn't something I felt like doing.


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